Dynamic activation of network hardware based on real-time conditions

ABSTRACT

User equipment includes a first antenna, a second antenna, a first transceiver coupled to the first antenna, a second transceiver coupled to the second antenna, and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the first transceiver and the second transceiver. The first transceiver receives or transmits a first signal via the first antenna, and the second transceiver receives or transmits a second signal via the second antenna. The processing circuitry receives an indication that a signal characteristic of the first signal is less than a first threshold, and decreases power to the first antenna, the first receiver, or both, based on the signal characteristic of the first signal being less than the first threshold.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to managing networkconnectivity of user equipment, and more specifically to dynamicallyactivating and/or reactivating network hardware of user equipment basedon real-time conditions.

User equipment (e.g., a mobile communication device) may include one ormore transmitters coupled to one or more antennas to enable the userequipment to receive and transmit wireless signals. For instance,certain types of user equipment may include a first antenna to receiveand transmit wireless signals via a first communication network (e.g., afourth generation (4G) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network) and asecond antenna to receive and transmit wireless signals via a secondcommunication network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) or a New Radio (NR)network). However, under certain conditions, the user equipment mayexperience interruptions in data communication over one or more of thenetworks. For example, the user equipment may experience low datathroughput via the networks such that certain webpages and/or webapplications viewed via the user equipment may not load. Additionally,the user equipment may have hardware and/or network limitations thatprevent the user equipment from resolving such issues.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

In one embodiment, user equipment includes a first antenna, a secondantenna, a first transceiver coupled to the first antenna, a secondtransceiver coupled to the second antenna, and processing circuitrycommunicatively coupled to the first transceiver and the secondtransceiver. The first transceiver receives or transmits a first signalvia the first antenna, and the second transceiver receives or transmitsa second signal via the second antenna. The processing circuitryreceives an indication that a signal characteristic of the first signalis less than a first threshold, and decreases power to the firstantenna, the first receiver, or both, based on the signal characteristicof the first signal being less than the first threshold.

In another embodiment, a method includes receiving, via an antenna ofuser equipment, a signal from a first communication network andreceiving, via processing circuitry of the user equipment, a firstindication that a signal characteristic of the signal is less than afirst threshold. The method also includes receiving, via the processingcircuitry, a second indication that a transmit power of the antenna isgreater than or equal to the a second threshold, and deactivating, viathe processing circuitry, the antenna, a transceiver associated with theantenna, or both, based on the signal characteristic of the signal beingless than the first threshold.

In yet another embodiment, one or more tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable media stores computer-readable instructions thatcauses one or more processors of user equipment to receive an indicationthat a signal characteristic of a signal received from a first networkis less than a first threshold. The signal is received by a firstantenna and a first transceiver of the user equipment. The userequipment is configured to satisfy a data uplink threshold associatedwith the first network based on a network setting defined by a networkprovider of the first network. The computer-readable instructions alsocauses the processors of the user equipment to deactivate the antenna,the transceiver, or both, in response to determining that the signalcharacteristic of the signal is less than the first threshold.

Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may exist individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in anycombination. The brief summary presented above is intended only tofamiliarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodimentsof the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawingsdescribed below in which like numerals refer to like parts:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of user equipment, according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of the user equipment of FIG. 1 ,according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system including theuser equipment of FIG. 1 communicatively coupled to a wirelesscommunication network supported by base stations, according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for deactivating network hardware ofthe user equipment of FIG. 1 based on real-time network conditions,according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for dynamically activating networkhardware of the user equipment of FIG. 1 based on real-time networkconditions, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation- specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean thatthere are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.Additionally, it should be understood that references to “oneembodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are notintended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additionalembodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Use of the terms“approximately,” “near,” “about,” “close to,” and/or “substantially”should be understood to mean including close to a target (e.g., design,value, amount), such as within a margin of any suitable orcontemplatable error (e.g., within 0.1% of a target, within 1% of atarget, within 5% of a target, within 10% of a target, within 25% of atarget, and so on). Moreover, it should be understood that any exactvalues, numbers, measurements, and so on, provided herein, arecontemplated to include approximations (e.g., within a margin ofsuitable or contemplatable error) of the exact values, numbers,measurements, and so on. Additionally, the term “communicate” mayinclude both transmission and reception of signals (e.g., wirelesssignals).

This disclosure is directed to managing network connectivity of userequipment for wireless communication. As discussed above, user equipment(e.g., a mobile communication device) may include one or moretransmitters coupled to one or more antennas to enable the userequipment to receive and transmit wireless signals. For instance,certain types of user equipment may include a first antenna to receiveand transmit wireless signals via a first communication network (e.g., afourth generation (4G) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network) and asecond antenna to receive and transmit wireless signals via a secondcommunication network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) or a New Radio (NR)network). However, under certain conditions, the user equipment mayexperience interruptions in data communication over one or more of thenetworks. For example, the user equipment may experience low datathroughput via one or more networks at the edge of a cell or a coveragearea supported by a base station. If the user equipment is far away froma base station of the second communication network, the user equipmentmay experience intermittent data stall and low data throughput. In suchareas, the user equipment may not be able to load certain webpagesand/or web applications or may slowly load the webpages and/or webapplications.

Additionally, certain types of user equipment may experience hardwareand/or network limitations that prevent the user equipment fromswitching to another network for continued data transmission and/orreception. In particular, certain configurations of the user equipmentand/or certain settings of a network provider may prevent the userequipment from switching between a first communication network (e.g.,5G/NR network) and a second communication network (e.g., a 4G/LTEnetwork) for data communication (e.g., transmission and/or reception ofsignals carrying data). For example, certain types of user equipment mayinclude a single antenna (or a single set of antennas) assigned to thefirst communication network and a single antenna (or a single set ofantennas) assigned to the second communication network. Accordingly,such types of user equipment may be unable to utilize an additionalantenna to strengthen the signal connection to the first communicationnetwork. Further, one or more settings of a network provider mayprioritize an initial data connection to the first communication networkover the second communication network. That is, one or more settings ofthe network provider may force the user equipment to satisfy a datauplink threshold (e.g., 10,000 bytes or more, 20,000 bytes or more,50,000 bytes or more, 51,200 bytes or more, and so on) to the firstwireless communication network before the user equipment is permitted toswitch to the second wireless communication network for datacommunication. Thus, the user equipment may continuously fail to satisfythe data uplink threshold to the first communication network if networkconnectivity to the first communication network is poor, therebypreventing the user equipment from switching to the second communicationnetwork for data communication.

Accordingly, the disclosure relates to dynamically deactivating orreactivating network hardware of the user equipment (e.g., a transceiverand/or an antenna) based on real-time, network conditions. Inparticular, the user equipment may continuously monitor a signalcharacteristic of a first network signal (e.g., an uplink data rate, asignal quality, a signal power) received by the user equipment for datacommunication over a first communication network. If the user equipmentdetermines that the signal characteristic of the first network signal isbelow a first threshold, the user equipment may deactivate networkhardware associated with the first network signal used to receive and/ortransmit the first network signal. Thereafter, the user equipment mayuse different network hardware (e.g., a second transceiver and/or asecond antenna) used to receive and/or transmit a second network signalfor data communication over a second communication network.Additionally, the user equipment may continue to monitor the signalcharacteristic of the first network signal. In particular, if the userequipment determines that the signal characteristic of the first networksignal is above a second threshold, the user equipment may reactivatethe network hardware associated with the first network signal and usethe network hardware for data communication over the first communicationnetwork. In some embodiments, the first communication network is a 5G/NRnetwork, and the second communication network is a 4G/LTE network.However, it should be understood that while the present disclosure mayuse 4G/LTE and 5G/NR as example specifications or standards of the firstcommunication network and the second communication network, theembodiments disclosed herein may apply to other suitable wirelesscommunication networks (e.g., such as third generation (3G), sixthgeneration (6G), beyond 6G, Wi-Fi, and so on). In this way, the userequipment may continuously monitor real-time, network conditions anddynamically reconfigure the network hardware of the user equipment fordata communication over the network having the best signalcharacteristic (e.g., uplink data rate, signal power, signal quality) ata particular point in time. In particular, the user equipment maymaintain network connectivity by switching from using the firstcommunication network (e.g., a 5G/NR network) as the primary network forreceiving and/or transmitting data to the second communication network(e.g., a 4G/LTE network) under conditions in which the data connectionbetween the user equipment and the first communication network is poor.Thereafter, the user equipment may switch from using the secondcommunication network as the primary network for receiving and/ortransmitting data to the first communication network under conditions inwhich the data connection between the user equipment and the firstcommunication network has improved.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of user equipment 10 (e.g., an electronicdevice, a wireless communication device, a mobile communication device,and so on), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The userequipment 10 may include, among other things, one or more processors 12(collectively referred to herein as a single processor for convenience,which may be implemented in any suitable form of processing circuitry),memory 14, nonvolatile storage 16, a display 18, input structures 22, aninput/output (I/O) interface 24, a network interface 26, and a powersource 29. The various functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 may includehardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (includingmachine-executable instructions) or a combination of both hardware andsoftware elements (which may be referred to as logic). The processor 12,the memory 14, the nonvolatile storage 16, the display 18, the inputstructures 22, the input/output (I/O) interface 24, the networkinterface 26, and/or the power source 29 may each be communicativelycoupled directly or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component,a communication bus, a network) to one another to transmit and/orreceive data between one another. It should be noted that FIG. 1 ismerely one example of a particular implementation and is intended toillustrate the types of components that may be present in the userequipment 10.

By way of example, the user equipment 10 may include any suitablecomputing device, including a desktop or notebook computer (e.g., in theform of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or MacPro® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), a portableelectronic device or a handheld electronic device, such as a wirelesselectronic device or smartphone (e.g., in the form of a model of aniPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), a tablet(e.g., in the form of a model of an iPad® available from Apple, Inc. ofCupertino, California), a wearable electronic device (e.g., in the formof an Apple Watch® by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California), and othersimilar devices. It should be noted that the processor 12 and otherrelated items in FIG. 1 may be generally referred to herein as “dataprocessing circuitry.” Such data processing circuitry may be embodiedwholly or in part as software, hardware, or both. Furthermore, theprocessor 12 and other related items in FIG. 2 may be a single containedprocessing module or may be incorporated wholly or partially within anyof the other elements within the user equipment 12. The processor 12 maybe implemented with any combination of general- purpose microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmablegate array (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers,state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicatedhardware finite state machines, or any other suitable entities that mayperform calculations or other manipulations of information. Theprocessor 12 may include one or more application processors, one or morebaseband processors, or both, and perform the various functionsdescribed herein.

In the user equipment 10 of FIG. 1 , the processor 12 may be operablycoupled with a memory 14 and a nonvolatile storage 16 to perform variousalgorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor 12may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture that includes oneor more tangible, computer-readable media. The tangible,computer-readable media may include the memory 14 and/or the nonvolatilestorage 16, individually or collectively, to store the instructions orroutines. The memory 14 and the nonvolatile storage 16 may include anysuitable articles of manufacture for storing data and executableinstructions, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritableflash memory, hard drives, and optical discs. In addition, programs(e.g., an operating system) encoded on such a computer program productmay also include instructions that may be executed by the processor 22to enable the user equipment 12 to provide various functionalities.

In certain embodiments, the display 18 may facilitate users to viewimages generated on the user equipment 10. In some embodiments, thedisplay 18 may include a touch screen, which may facilitate userinteraction with a user interface of the user equipment 10. Furthermore,it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the display 18 mayinclude one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light-emitting diode(LED) displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays,active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or somecombination of these and/or other display technologies.

The input structures 22 of the user equipment 10 may enable a user tointeract with the user equipment 10 (e.g., pressing a button to increaseor decrease a volume level). The I/O interface 24 may enable userequipment 10 to interface with various other electronic devices, as maythe network interface 26. In some embodiments, the I/O interface 24 mayinclude an I/O port for a hardwired connection for charging and/orcontent manipulation using a standard connector and protocol, such asthe Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California,a universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connector and protocol.The network interface 26 may include, for example, one or moreinterfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as an ultra-wideband(UWB) or a BLUETOOTH® network, for a local area network (LAN) orwireless local area network (WLAN), such as a network employing one ofthe IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g., WI-FIC), and/or a wide areanetwork (WAN), such as any standards related to the Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP), including, for example, a third generation(3G) cellular network, a universal mobile telecommunication system(UMTS), a fourth generation (4G) cellular network, a long term evolution(LTE®) cellular network, a long term evolution licenses assisted access(LTE-LAA) cellular network, a fifth generation (5G) cellular network,and/or New Radio (NR) cellular network, a sixth generation (6G) orgreater than 6G cellular network, a satellite network, a non-terrestrialnetwork, and so on. In particular, the network interface 26 may include,for example, one or more interfaces for using a cellular communicationstandard of the 5G specifications that include the millimeter (mmWave)frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)) and/or any othercellular communication standard release (e.g., Release-15, Release-16,Release-17, any future releases) that define and/or enable frequencyranges used for wireless communication. The network interface 26 of theuser equipment 10 may allow communication over the aforementionednetworks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, and so forth).

The network interface 26 may also include one or more interfaces for,for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks (e.g., WIMAX®),mobile broadband Wireless networks (mobile WIMAX®), asynchronous digitalsubscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital videobroadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T®) network and its extension DVB Handheld(DVB-H®) network, ultra-wideband (UWB) network, alternating current (AC)power lines, and so forth.

As illustrated, the network interface 26 may include a transceiver 30.In some embodiments, all or portions of the transceiver 30 may bedisposed within the processor 12. The transceiver 30 may supporttransmission and receipt of various wireless signals via one or moreantennas, and thus may include a transmitter and a receiver. The powersource 29 of the user equipment 10 may include any suitable source ofpower, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and/oran alternating (AC) power converter.

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of the user equipment 10 of FIG. 1 ,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, theprocessor 12, the memory 14, first and second transceivers 30A and 30B(collectively 30), first and second transmitters 52A and 52B(collectively 52), first and second receivers 54A and 54B (collectively54), and/or antennas 55 (illustrated as 55A-55N, collectively referredto as an antenna 55) may be communicatively coupled directly orindirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus,a network) to one another to transmit and/or receive data between oneanother.

The user equipment 10 may include the transmitters 52 and/or thereceivers 54 that respectively enable transmission and reception of databetween the user equipment 10 and an external device via, for example, anetwork (e.g., including access points or base stations, such as NodeBs,eNBs, or eNodeBs (Evolved NodeBs or E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network)NodeBs, or gNodeBs (e.g., Next Generation NodeB)) or a directconnection. As illustrated, the transmitters 52 and the receivers 54 maybe combined into the transceivers 30. The user equipment 10 may alsohave one or more antennas 55A-55N electrically coupled to thetransceivers 30. For example, the user equipment 10 may use a firstantenna 55A to receive and/or transmit wireless signals via a firstcommunication network (e.g., a 4G or a long term evolution (LTE)network) and a second antenna 55N to receive and/or transmit wirelesssignals via a second communication network (e.g., a 5G or a new radio(NR) network). However, it should be understood that while the presentdisclosure may use 4G/LTE and as an example specification or standard ofthe first communication network and the second communication network,the embodiments disclosed herein may apply to other suitablespecifications or standards (e.g., such as third generation (3G), sixthgeneration (6G), beyond 6G, Wi-Fi, and so on). The antennas 55A-55N maybe configured in an omnidirectional or directional configuration, in asingle-beam, dual-beam, or multi-beam arrangement, and so on. Eachantenna 55 may be associated with one or more beams and variousconfigurations. In some embodiments, multiple antennas 55A-55N of anantenna group or module may be communicatively coupled to a respectivetransceiver 30 and each emit radio frequency signals that mayconstructively and/or destructively combine to form a beam.

The user equipment 10 may transmit a signal using a single transmitter(e.g., 52A or 52B) via one or more antennas 55 or transmit a signalusing multiple transmitters 52A and 52B (e.g., each transmitter 52A, 52Busing a respective set (e.g., one or more antennas 55)). The userequipment 10 may include more transmitters, more receivers, multipletransceivers, and/or multiple antennas as suitable for variouscommunication standards. In some embodiments, the transmitters 52 andthe receivers 54 may transmit and receive information via other wired orwireline systems or means.

As illustrated, the various components of the user equipment 10 may becoupled together by a bus system 56. The bus system 56 may include adata bus, for example, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, astatus signal bus, in addition to the data bus. The components of theuser equipment 10 may be coupled together or accept or provide inputs toeach other using some other mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 includingthe user equipment 10 of FIG. 1 communicatively coupled to a firstwireless communication network 102A and a second wireless communicationnetwork 102B (collectively 102), according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated, the first wireless communication network 102is supported by base stations 104A, 104B (collectively 104), and thesecond wireless communication network 102B is supported by base stations106A, 106B. In particular, the base stations 104 may include one or moreEvolved NodeB (eNodeB) base stations and may provide first network(e.g., 4G/LTE) coverage via the first wireless communication network102A to the user equipment 10. Additionally, the base station 106 mayinclude one or more Next Generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB) base stationsand may provide second network (e.g., 5G/NR) coverage via the secondwireless communication network 102B to the user equipment 10. The basestations 104, 106 may include any suitable electronic device, such as acommunication hub or node, that facilitates, supports, and/or implementsthe networks 102. Each of the base stations 104, 106 may include atleast some of the components of the user equipment 10 shown in FIGS. 1and 2 , including one or more processors 12, a memory 14, a storage 16,a transceiver 30, a transmitter 52, a receiver 54. It should beunderstood that while the present disclosure may use 4G/LTE and 5G/NR asexample specifications or standards of the first wireless communicationnetwork 102A and the second wireless communication network 102B, theembodiments disclosed herein may apply to other suitable specificationsor standards (e.g., such as third generation (3G), sixth generation(6G), beyond 6G, Wi-Fi, and so on). Moreover, the networks 102 mayinclude any suitable number of base stations 104, 106 (e.g., one or morebase stations 104, 106, four or more base stations 104, 106, ten or morebase stations 104, 106, and so on).

As illustrated, the user equipment 10 includes the transceivers 30. Thetransceivers include the transmitters 52 and the receivers 54 thatrespectively enable transmission and reception of data between the userequipment 10 and the base stations 104 via the antennas In certainembodiments, the transmitter 52A of the transceiver 30A may transmitdata to a first communication network 102A (e.g., 4G/LTE) via a firstantenna 55A, and the receiver 54A of the transceiver 30A may receivedata from the first wireless communication network 102A via the firstantenna 55A. Additionally, the transmitter 52B of the transceiver 30Bmay transmit data to a second communication network 102B (e.g., 5G/NR)via a second antenna and the receiver 54B of the transceiver 30B mayreceive data from the second communication network 102B via the secondantenna 55B.

As mentioned above, under certain conditions, the user equipment 10 mayexperience interruptions in data communication over one or more of thenetworks 102A, 102B. For example, the user equipment 10 may experiencelow data throughput via the second wireless communication network 102Bat the edge of a cell or a coverage area supported by the correspondingbase station 104B. Additionally, certain types of user equipment 10 mayexperience hardware and/or network limitations that prevent the userequipment 10 from switching to another network (e.g., the first wirelesscommunication network 102A) for continued data transmission and/orreception. In particular, certain configurations of the user equipment10 and/or certain settings of a network provider may prevent the userequipment 10 from switching between the second wireless communicationnetwork 102B and the first wireless communication network 102A for datacommunication. First, the user equipment 10 may include a single (e.g.,no more than one) antenna 55A to connect to the first wirelesscommunication network 102A and a single (e.g., no more than one) antenna55B to connect to the second wireless communication network 102B.Accordingly, the user equipment 10 may be unable to utilize anadditional antenna to strengthen the data connection of the userequipment 10 to the second wireless communication network 102B. Second,the network provider may prioritize an initial data connection to thesecond wireless communication network 102B over the first wirelesscommunication network 102A. That is, one or more settings of the networkprovider may force the user equipment 10 to satisfy a data uplinkthreshold (e.g., 10,000 bytes or more, bytes or more, 50,000 bytes ormore, 51,200 bytes or more, and so on) to the second wirelesscommunication network 102B before the user equipment 10 is permitted toswitch to the first wireless communication network 102A for datacommunication. For example, the user equipment 10 may prevent, block, orinterrupt reception or transmission of a signal of the first wirelesscommunication network 102A before the data uplink threshold to thesecond wireless communication network 102B is satisfied while the secondantenna 55B, the second transceiver 30B, or both, are activated. Thus,the user equipment 10 may continuously fail to satisfy the data uplinkthreshold to the second wireless communication network 102B, therebypreventing the user equipment 10 from switching to the first wirelesscommunication network 102A for data transmission and/or reception.

Accordingly, the user equipment 10 may continuously monitor a signalcharacteristic of a first network (e.g., 5G/NR) signal received by theuser equipment 10 for receiving data over the first network 102B. If theuser equipment 10 determines that the signal characteristic of the firstnetwork signal is below a first threshold, the user equipment 10 maydeactivate network hardware (e.g., the transceiver 30B and/or theantenna 55B) used to transmit and/or receive data over the 5G/NR network102B. Thereafter, the user equipment 10 may use different networkhardware (e.g., the transceiver 30A and/or the antenna 55A) to receiveand/or transmit a second network (e.g., 4G/LTE) signal over the secondnetwork 102A. Additionally, the user equipment 10 may continue tomonitor the signal characteristic of the first network signal. Inparticular, if the user equipment 10 determines that the signalcharacteristic of the first network signal is above a second threshold,the user equipment 10 may reactivate the network hardware (e.g., thetransceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B) for receiving and/ortransmitting a first network signal over the first network 102B. Itshould be understood that while the present disclosure may use 4G/LTEand 5G/NR as example specifications or standards of the first network102A and the second network 102B, the embodiments disclosed herein mayapply to other suitable specifications or standards (e.g., such as thirdgeneration (3G), sixth generation (6G), beyond 6G, Wi-Fi, and so on). Inthis way, the user equipment 10 may continuously monitor real-time,network conditions and dynamically reconfigure the network hardware ofthe user equipment 10 for transmitting and/or receiving data over thenetwork (e.g., 102A, 102B) that has the best signal characteristic(e.g., uplink data rate, signal quality, signal power) at a particularpoint in time. That is, the user equipment 10 may maintain networkconnectivity by switching from using the first network 102A as theprimary network for receiving and/or transmitting data to the secondnetwork 102B under conditions in which the data connection between theuser equipment and the first network 102A is poor.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 110 fordeactivating network hardware of the user equipment 10 used tocommunicate (e.g., transmit and/or receive signals) over a firstcommunication network 102B (e.g., a 5G/NR network) based on real-timenetwork conditions associated with the first communication network 102B,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, theuser equipment 10 may deactivate an antenna 55B used to receive and/ortransmit data over the first communication network 102B if a signalcharacteristic of the first communication network signal is lower than afirst threshold. Any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that maycontrol components of the user equipment 12, such as the processor 12,may perform the method 110. In some embodiments, the method 110 may beimplemented by executing instructions stored in a tangible,non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as the memory 14 or thestorage 16, using the processor 12. For example, the method 110 may beperformed at least in part by one or more software components, such asan operating system of the user equipment 10, one or more softwareapplications of the user equipment 10, and the like. While the method110 is described using steps in a specific sequence, it should beunderstood that the present disclosure contemplates that the describedsteps may be performed in different sequences than the sequenceillustrated, and certain described steps may be skipped or not performedaltogether.

Under certain conditions, the user equipment 10 may experienceinterruptions in data communication over the first communication network102B. For example, the user equipment 10 may experience low datathroughput via the first wireless communication network 102B at the edgeof a cell or a coverage area supported by the corresponding base station104B. Additionally, the user equipment 10 may experience hardware and/ornetwork limitations that prevent the user equipment 10 from switching tothe second communication network 102A to maintain network connectivityfor receiving and/or transmitting data. In particular, the userequipment 10 may include a single (e.g., no more than one) antenna 55Bto connect to the first wireless communication network 102B and a single(e.g., no more than one) antenna 55B to connect to the second wirelesscommunication network 102A. Accordingly, the user equipment 10 may beunable to utilize an additional antenna 55A to strengthen the dataconnection of the user equipment 10 to the first wireless communicationnetwork 102B. Further, the network provider may prioritize an initialdata connection to the first wireless communication network 102B overthe second wireless communication network 102A. That is, one or moresettings of the network provider may force the user equipment 10 tosatisfy a data uplink threshold (e.g., 10,000 bytes or more, 20,000bytes or more, 50,000 bytes or more, 51,200 bytes or more, and so on) tothe first wireless communication network 102B before the user equipment10 is permitted to switch to the second wireless communication network102A for data communication.

Accordingly, the user equipment 10 may perform the method 110 before orduring a period of time in which the user equipment 10 is experiencingpoor network connectivity to the first communication network 102B. Inprocess block 112, the user equipment 10 receives a first communicationnetwork signal from the first communication network 102B (e.g., anetwork) via a first antenna 55B. The user equipment 10 may also receivea second communication network signal from the second communicationnetwork 102A (e.g., a 4G/LTE network) via a second antenna 55A. Forinstance, the user equipment 10 may be located in a region that includesfirst communication network coverage by a corresponding base station104B and second communication network coverage by a corresponding basestation 104A. In process block 114, the user equipment 10 determines asignal characteristic of the first communication network signal from thefirst communication network 102B. In particular, the signalcharacteristic may include any suitable metric that provides anindication that data in the first communication network signal will besufficiently received by the user equipment 10. In some embodiments, thesignal characteristic may include an uplink data rate, a signal quality(e.g., Energy Per Chip to Interference (EC/I0),Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), Received Signal CodePower (RSCP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)), a signal power(e.g., Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Reference SignalsReceived Power (RSRP)), and/or the like.

In process block 116, the user equipment 10 may determine if the signalcharacteristic of the first communication network signal is less than afirst threshold. In certain embodiments, the processing circuitry of theuser equipment 10 may receive an indication that the signalcharacteristic is less than the first threshold or not less than thefirst threshold from additional suitable processing circuitry of theuser equipment 10 that evaluates the signal characteristic of the firstcommunication network. If the user equipment 10 is far away from a basestation 104B that provides the coverage area of the first communicationnetwork 102B, a signal characteristic (e.g., an uplink data rate, asignal quality, a signal power) of the first communication networksignal received by the user equipment 10 may decrease such that the userequipment 10 experiences low data throughput or a stall in datacommunicated over the first communication network 102B. In certainembodiments, the first threshold may include an uplink data rate (e.g.,10,000 bytes or more, 20,000 bytes or more, bytes or more, 51,200 bytesor more, and so on), a signal quality (e.g., two decibels (dB) to threedB, three dB to four dB, four dB to five dB), and/or a signal power(e.g., two dB to three dB, three dB to four dB, four dB to five dB). Inany case, the first threshold may be fixed by a manufacturer of the userequipment 10 or be configurable at run-time.

If the user equipment 10 receives an indication that the signalcharacteristic is not less than the first threshold or determines thatthe signal characteristic is not less than the first threshold inprocess block 116, the user equipment 10 may continue to perform themethod 110 at process blocks 114 and 116 to monitor the signalcharacteristic of the first communication network signal. Alternatively,if the user equipment 10 receives and indication that the signalcharacteristic is less than the first threshold or determines that thesignal characteristic is less than the first threshold, in process block118, the user equipment determines if a transmit power of acorresponding transmitter 52B is greater than or equal to a secondthreshold. In certain embodiments, the processing circuitry of the userequipment may receive an indication that the transmit power of thecorresponding transmitter 52B is greater than or equal to the secondthreshold or less than the second threshold from additional suitableprocessing circuitry of the user equipment 10 that evaluates thetransmit power. Additionally, the second threshold may be indicative ofa maximum transmit power level associated with the user equipment 10.For example, the maximum transmit power level may be 10decibel-milliwatts (dBm) or greater, 12 dBm or greater, 15 dBm orgreater, 16 dBm or greater, or any other suitable value.

If the user equipment 10 receives an indication that the transmit powerof the transmitter 52B is not greater than or equal to the secondthreshold or determines that the transmit power of the transmitter 52Bis not greater than or equal to the second threshold, the user equipment10 may increase the transmit power of the transmitter 52B in processblock 120. The user equipment 10 may then perform the method 110 atprocess blocks 114 and 116 to determine whether the signalcharacteristic of the first communication network signal has improved.If the user equipment 10 determines that the signal characteristic ofthe first communication network signal has improved (e.g., the signalcharacteristic is not less than the first threshold) in process block116, the user equipment 10 may perform the method 110 at process blocks114 and 116 to monitor the signal characteristic of the firstcommunication network signal. Alternatively, if the user equipment 10receives an indication that the transmit power of the transmitter 52B isgreater than or equal to the second threshold or determines that thetransmit power of the transmitter 52B is greater than or equal to thesecond threshold, the user equipment 10 deactivates the network hardwareof the user equipment 10 used to communicate over the firstcommunication network 102B in process block 122. For example, the userequipment 10 may deactivate the transceiver 30B, the antenna 55B, and/orany other suitable network hardware, used to receive and/or transmitdata over the first communication network 55B. The user equipment 10 maydeactivate the transceiver 30B, the antenna 55B, and/or any othersuitable network hardware by depowering the network hardware, shuttingoff the network hardware, turning off the network hardware, or the like.In some embodiments, the user equipment 10 may deactivate thetransceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B by degrading a gain (e.g., power)of the transceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B, gradually decreasing apower supplied to the transceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B, blockingpower supplied to the transceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B, or anyother suitable technique.

Thereafter, the user equipment 10 may use different network hardware tocommunicate (e.g., transmit and/or receive signals) with a differentnetwork. As mentioned above, the user equipment 10 may receive and/ortransmit data over the second communication network 102A via thetransceiver 30A and the antenna 55A. In this way, the user equipment 10may switch to the second communication network 102A under conditions inwhich the data connection between the user equipment 10 and the firstcommunication network 102B is poor. Accordingly, the user equipment 10does not continuously attempt to satisfy the data uplink thresholdassociated with the first communication network under conditions inwhich the network connectivity to the first communication network ispoor, thereby reducing power consumption and increasing battery life ofthe user equipment 10.

Additionally, the user equipment 10 may continue to monitor the signalcharacteristic of the first communication network signal to determine ifthe network conditions associated with the first communication network102B have improved. That is, the user equipment 10 may switch from usingthe second communication network 102A as the primary network forreceiving and/or transmitting data to the first communication network102B under conditions in which the data connection between the userequipment 10 and the first communication network 102B has improved.Further, as mentioned above, the user equipment 10 may include a single(e.g., no more than one) antenna 55B to connect to the first wirelesscommunication network 102B and a single (e.g., no more than one) antenna55B to connect to the second wireless communication network 102A.Accordingly, the user equipment 10 may be unable to utilize anadditional antenna 55A to strengthen the data connection of the userequipment 10 to the first wireless communication network 102B or thesecond wireless communication network 102A. The network provider mayalso prioritize an initial data connection to the first wirelesscommunication network 102B over the second wireless communicationnetwork 102A. That is, one or more settings of the network provider mayforce the user equipment 10 to satisfy a data uplink threshold (e.g.,10,000 bytes or more, bytes or more, 50,000 bytes or more, 51,200 bytesor more, and so on) to the first wireless communication network 102Bbefore the user equipment 10 is permitted to switch to the secondwireless communication network 102A for data communication.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 150 fordynamically activating network hardware of the user equipment 10 used tocommunicate (e.g., transmit and/or receive signals) over the firstcommunication network (e.g., a 5G/NR network 102B) based on real-timenetwork conditions associated with the first communication network 102B,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 150 maybe performed by the user equipment 10 after the user equipment hasperform the method 110 described above with respect to FIG. 4 . Inparticular, the user equipment 10 may activate the transceiver 30B, theantenna 55B, and/or any other suitable network hardware, used to receiveand/or transmit data over the first communication network 55B if thesignal characteristic of the first communication network signal isgreater than or equal to a third threshold. Any suitable device (e.g., acontroller) that may control components of the user equipment 12, suchas the processor 12, may perform the method 150. In some embodiments,the method 150 may be implemented by executing instructions stored in atangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as the memory14 or the storage 16, using the processor 12. For example, the method150 may be performed at least in part by one or more softwarecomponents, such as an operating system of the user equipment 10, one ormore software applications of the user equipment 10, and the like. Whilethe method 150 is described using steps in a specific sequence, itshould be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that thedescribed steps may be performed in different sequences than thesequence illustrated, and certain described steps may be skipped or notperformed altogether.

In process block 152, the user equipment 10 receives the firstcommunication network signal (e.g., a 5G/NR network signal) from thefirst communication network 102B via the first antenna 55B. For example,the user equipment 10 may intermittently supply power to the firstantenna 55B to connect to the first communication network 102B. The userequipment 10 may receive the first communication network signal from thefirst communication network 102B via the first antenna 55B after theuser equipment 10 supplies power to the first antenna 55B. In processblock 154, the user equipment 10 determines a signal characteristic ifthe first communication network signal from the first communicationnetwork 102B. As mentioned above with respect to process block 114, thesignal characteristic may include any suitable metric that provides anindication that data in the first communication network signal will besufficiently received by the user equipment 10. In some embodiments, thesignal characteristic may include an uplink data rate, a signal quality(e.g., EC/IO, SINR, RSCP, RSRQ), a signal power (e.g., RSSI, RSRP),and/or the like.

In process block 156, the user equipment 10 may determine if the signalcharacteristic of the first communication network signal is greater thanor equal to a third threshold. In certain embodiments, the processingcircuitry of the user equipment 10 may receive an indication that thesignal characteristic is less than the third threshold or greater thanor equal to the third threshold from additional suitable processingcircuitry of the user equipment 10 that evaluates the signalcharacteristic of the first communication network. In particular, thethird threshold may be indicative of a minimum level of a signalcharacteristic for receiving and/or transmitting data over the firstcommunication network 102B. In certain embodiments, the third thresholdmay include an uplink data rate (e.g., 10,000 bytes or more, 20,000bytes or more, 50,000 bytes or more, 51,200 bytes or more, and so on), asignal quality (e.g., two dB to three dB, three dB to four dB, four dBto five dB), and/or a signal power (e.g., two dB to three dB, three dBto four dB, four dB to five dB). In any case, the third threshold may befixed by a manufacturer of the user equipment 10 or be configurable atrun-time.

If the user equipment 10 receives an indication that the signalcharacteristic is not greater than or equal to the third threshold ordetermines that the signal characteristic is not greater than or equalto the third threshold in process block 156, the user equipment 10 maycontinue to perform the method 150 at process blocks 154 and 156 tomonitor the signal characteristic of the first communication networksignal. Alternatively, if the user equipment receives an indication thatthe signal characteristic is greater than or equal to the thirdthreshold or determines that the signal characteristic is greater thanor equal to the third threshold, in optional process block 158, the userequipment 10 may send a report to the network provider, themanufacturer, or any other suitable entity. For instance, the report mayinclude one or more signal characteristic values, one or moregeographical position data (e.g., with respect to the base stations 104,106), or the like.

In process block 160, the user equipment 10 activates the networkhardware of the user equipment 10 used to communicate (e.g., transmitand/or receive signals) over the first communication network 102B afterthe user equipment 10 receives an indication that the signalcharacteristic is greater than or equal to the third threshold ordetermines that the signal characteristic is greater than or equal tothe third threshold. For example, the user equipment may activate thetransceiver 30B, the antenna 55B, and/or any other suitable hardware,used to receive and/or transmit data over the first communicationnetwork 55B. The user equipment 10 may activate the transceiver 30B, theantenna 55B, and/or any other suitable network hardware by powering onthe network hardware, supplying power to the network hardware, turningon the network hardware, or the like. In some embodiments, the userequipment 10 may activate the transceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B byincreasing a gain of the transceiver 30B and/or the antenna 55B,gradually increasing a power supplied to the transceiver 30B and/or theantenna 55B, unblocking power supplied to the transceiver 30B and/or theantenna 55B, or any other suitable technique. Thereafter, the userequipment 10 may receive and/or transmit data over the firstcommunication network 102B via the transceiver 30B and the antenna 55B.In this way, the user equipment 10 may switch from receiving and/ortransmitting data over the second communication network 102A to thefirst communication network 102B, or the first communication network 102to the second communication network 102, based on real-time, networkconditions.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

What is claimed is:
 1. User equipment, comprising: a first antenna and asecond antenna; a first transceiver coupled to the first antenna, thefirst transceiver configured to receive or transmit a first signal viathe first antenna; a second transceiver coupled to the second antenna,the second transceiver configured to receive or transmit a second signalvia the second antenna; and processing circuitry communicatively coupledto the first transceiver and the second transceiver, the processingcircuitry configured to receive an indication that a signalcharacteristic of the first signal is less than a first threshold, anddecrease power to the first antenna, the first transceiver, or both,based on the signal characteristic of the first signal being less thanthe first threshold.
 2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the userequipment consists of only the first antenna and the second antenna. 3.The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to satisfy an upload data threshold associated with a firstnetwork based on a network setting defined by a network provider of thefirst network and a second network.
 4. The user equipment of claim 3,wherein the processing circuitry is configured to prevent reception ortransmission of the second signal via the second antenna beforesatisfying the upload data threshold associated with the first networkwhile the first antenna, the first transceiver, or both, are activated.5. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the first signal comprises a5G signal or a New Radio (NR) signal.
 6. The user equipment of claim 1,wherein the second signal comprises a 4G signal or a Long Term Evolution(LTE) signal.
 7. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is configured to receive a first indication that a transmitpower at the first antenna is less than a second threshold afterreceiving a second indication that the signal characteristic of thefirst signal is less than the first threshold, and increase the transmitpower at the first antenna.
 8. The user equipment of claim 7, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to determine that the increasedtransmit power at the first antenna is greater than or equal to thesecond threshold before deactivating the first antenna, the firsttransceiver or both.
 9. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to determine that the signalcharacteristic is greater than a third threshold after deactivating thefirst antenna, the first transceiver, or both, and activate the firstantenna, the first transceiver, or both, based on the signalcharacteristic being greater than the third threshold.
 10. A method,comprising: receiving, via an antenna of user equipment, a signal from afirst communication network; receiving, via processing circuitry of theuser equipment, a first indication that a signal characteristic of thesignal is less than a first threshold; receiving, via the processingcircuitry, a second indication that a transmit power of the antenna isgreater than or equal to a second threshold; and deactivating, via theprocessing circuitry, the antenna, a transceiver associated with theantenna, or both, based on the signal characteristic of the signal beingless than the first threshold.
 11. The method of claim 10, comprisingreceiving, via a second antenna of the user equipment, a second signalfrom a second communication network.
 12. The method of claim 11,comprising transmitting, via the second antenna, a second signal to thesecond communication network after deactivating the antenna, thetransceiver, or both.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein deactivatingthe antenna, the transceiver, or both, comprises decreasing a powersupplied to the antenna, the transceiver, or both; degrading a gain ofthe antenna, the transceiver or both; or blocking the power supplied tothe antenna, the transceiver, or both.
 14. The method of claim 10,comprising: determining, via the processing circuitry, that the signalcharacteristic is greater than a third threshold after deactivating theantenna, the transceiver, or both; and activating the antenna, thetransceiver, or both, based on the signal characteristic being greaterthan the third threshold.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein activatingthe antenna, the transceiver, or both, comprises increasing a powersupplied to the antenna, the transceiver, or both; increasing a gain ofthe antenna, the transceiver or both; or unblocking the power suppliedto the antenna, the transceiver, or both.
 16. One or more tangible,non-transitory, computer-readable media, storing computer-readableinstructions configured to cause one or more processors of userequipment to: receive an indication that a signal characteristic of asignal received from a first network is less than a first threshold, thesignal being received by a first antenna and a first transceiver of theuser equipment, the user equipment being configured to satisfy a datauplink threshold associated with the first network based on a networksetting defined by a network provider of the first network; anddeactivate the antenna, the transceiver, or both, in response todetermining that the signal characteristic of the signal is less thanthe first threshold.
 17. The one or more tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the signal characteristiccomprises an uplink data rate, a signal quality, a signal power, or anycombination thereof
 18. The one or more tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the computer-readableinstructions cause the one or more processors to transmit, via a secondantenna of the user equipment, a second signal to a second network afterdeactivating the antenna, the transceiver, or both.
 19. The one or moretangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 16, whereinthe user equipment is unable to transmit, via a second antenna of theuser equipment, a second signal to a second network before satisfyingthe data uplink threshold associated with the first network while theantenna, the transceiver, or both, are activated.
 20. The one or moretangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 15, whereinthe computer-readable instructions cause the one or more processors to:determine that the signal characteristic is greater than a thirdthreshold after deactivating the antenna, the transceiver, or both; andactivate the antenna, the transceiver, or both, based on the signalcharacteristic being greater than the third threshold.